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Travel
Jammu – The City of Temples
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| City
Information |
| Area |
20.36 sq.kms |
| Altitude |
305 m. |
| Temperature |
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| Summer |
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| Winter |
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| Rainfall |
107 cms (July to September). |
| Population |
6,98,674 (as per Census 2001) |
| Best Season |
September to April. |
| Clothing |
Summer: light cottons
Winter: woolens |
| Languages |
Dogri, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English |
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Nestling
in the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India with the river Tawi
flowing alongside, is the place that Raja Jambu Lochan
discovered one day while he was on a hunting trip. Legend
has it that he came upon a clearing where he saw a sight
that left him wonderstruck. A tiger and a goat stood
side-by-side, drinking water from the same place in the
Tawi River. He was so struck by this unusual sight that
he decided to build a city on this land where no living
creature seemed to bear enmity towards each other. Little
is known of Jammu’s subsequent history until, in
1730 AD, it came under the rule of the Dogra king, Raja
Dhruv Deva. The Dogra rulers moved their capital to the
present site and Jammu became an important centre of
art and culture, especially the Pahari school of paintings.
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Today,
as if in testimony to Raja Jambu Lochan’s
vision, the city of Jammu has come to be known
as the ‘City Of Temples’. Innumerable
temples and shrines, with glittering ‘shikhars’ soaring
into the sky, dot the city’s skyline, creating
the ambience of a holy and peaceful city.
Temples and Shrines
Amongst the temples in Jammu, the Raghunath
Mandir takes pride of place being situated right
in the heart of the city.
It consists of a cluster
of temples and is the largest temple complex
in northern India. Its
inner sanctums contain gigantic statues of deities
and numerous ‘lingams’. It contains
representatives of almost the entire Hindu pantheon,
which make it a rare site to behold.
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The
famous temple of Bawey Wali Mata is inside the Bahu Fort
where, every Tuesday and Sunday, pilgrims throng to worship
the goddess.
A little further away, on a spur opposite the Bahu
Fort, overlooking the river Tawi, stands a temple dedicated
to Mahamaya, a Dogra heroine who lost her life fourteen
centuries ago fighting foreign invaders.
The Peer Kho
cave temple overlooking the Tawi river, the Panchbakhtar
temple and the Ranbireshwar temple
are the other well known Shiva temples in Jammu.
Each
has its own legend, its devotees
and specific days of worship.
In Ranbireshwar Temple, there
are
twelve Shiva ‘lingams’ of
crystal measuring 12" to 18" and
galleries with thousands of ‘saligrams’ fixed
on stone slabs. Other important
temples in Jammu are the Lakshmi
Narayan temple, Duda Dhari temple
and the Panj Mandir in Gandhi
Nagar.
It is said
that if the Bawey Wali Mata is
the presiding deity
of Jammu, the ‘durgah’ of
Peer Budhan Ali Shah or Peer
Baba as it is known, is the shrine
that protects the people of this
city from mishaps and evil spirits.
A friend of Guru Gobind Singh, Peer
Baba is said to have lived his entire
life on milk alone and lived to the
age of five hundred. On Thursdays,
Hindu and Sikh devotees vastly outnumber
their Muslim brethren at this shrine;
such is the faith of the people in
Peer Baba. Most VIPs make it a point
to visit this ‘durgah’ when
they come to Jammu. |
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Forts and Palaces
On the opposite bank of the Tawi river,
on an upland plateau, is situated the
majestic Bahu Fort, the oldest edifice
extant in the region. Looking at this
fort one can imagine the wars fought,
invasions prevented, and yes, even the
grandeur the royal family must have enjoyed
at the time. Today it is surrounded by
a lush green terraced garden, with waterfalls
and flowers of just about every kind
and colour. It is a favourite picnic
spot for the city folk.
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The Amar Mahal Palace, a sight to behold,
is on an
eerie
overlooking the Tawi river.
This grand palace, with sloping roofs and
tall towers, so characteristic of continental
castles, reminds one of France. The palace
has been converted into a museum which
also houses the city’s finest library
of antique books and paintings. An entire
series of miniatures on the epic Nal-Damayanti
can be seen in the museum.
Old Bazaars and Designer boutiques
There are two charmingly contradictory
aspects to the city of Jammu which one
can see while shopping. For instance, in
the crowded streets of Raghunath Bazaar,
among the age-old dry fruit shops, you’ll
find designer boutiques that display the
very latest in fashion and fashion accessories.
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